The present application relates to a method for testing a vehicle or a component of a vehicle, wherein the real vehicle travels on a real test track.
In the development and testing of vehicles it is necessary to bring about certain driving states in order to test a certain behavior of the vehicle or of its sub-components under certain conditions. This can take place either on special test rigs, such as roller dynamometers for example, or on test tracks (whether these are in the form of real roads or on a special testing ground is not important here). Both possibilities have advantages and disadvantages. On test rigs, it is not possible to get as close to real environmental conditions as one might wish, as the desired real environment cannot be simulated with the necessary accuracy. A test on a test rig can therefore only ever be an indication of the real behavior of the vehicle on the real carriageway (albeit one which very closely approximates to the real conditions). On the other hand, very flexible test runs can be carried out on a test rig (such as a roller dynamometer for a vehicle for example). In turn, a test track is naturally limited in its options for driving through different environments, routes etc. It is therefore not possible to produce just any driving states on a test track. In addition, a test on a test track is usually dependent on the environmental conditions (temperature, humidity) and on the test driver (shift points, pedal position(s), steering angle, etc.) and therefore is also not wholly reproducible. However, by choosing different test tracks (e.g. an urban route or the Groβglockner high alpine road) it is of course possible to cover a variety of routes and therefore test runs, which, however, is understandably laborious and only possible to a limited extent. Basically, however, neither option is ideal.
The object of the present invention is therefore to specify a test method and a test environment which combines the advantages of the two above-mentioned possibilities for testing a vehicle or components thereof and at least minimizes the associated disadvantages.